Stupid Cupid
by DaughterOfHermesWatchUrWallet
Summary: "He was stupid. He was utterly stupid. Nico di Angelo could not believe that he had just spilled all of those things to Percy. He was stupid. Percy was stupid." Pernico! Don't own PJO or anything like that.
1. Chapter 1: JASON

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm excited to start this new story I've been keeping hidden away in sketches and notes. I hope you all enjoy! It's my first time writing Pernico so please give me some feedback that'd be rad. **

**Chapter One**

**Monday **

Jason Grace didn't mind being the new kid. In fact, he preferred jumping to a new school and meeting all of the new people. He didn't mind that he had to leave his old school and his almost-girlfriend not-girlfriend for this new one because of some 'amazing scholarship opportunity'. Who would mind that? And really, it was his last year of high school so it really shouldn't matter that he had to go to a new school. It was just one more year to go. And this so called 'amazing scholarship opportunity' paid in big bucks, and even though Jason wasn't quite sure where he was going in life he knew that he needed this scholarship because believe it or not college isn't cheap.

What Jason Grace did mind was that he had to retake Chemistry. That really sucked because if Reyna, the smartest girl he knew, couldn't help him pass it, then who could? And did the school administration really have to give it to him for the first hour of the day? Did they really expect him to pass it or were they just taunting him with that hope of getting his diploma?

"_Don't give up so easily, Jason, victory can still be yours,"_ he thought as he knocked on the door leading to his first period class.

After a few silent moments, the door opened to a girl with long golden locks. She didn't seem too amused to find Jason standing there, thirty minutes after class had officially started.

"Are you Jason Grace?" She asked while glaring up at him with dark gray eyes. They had seemed to show a hint of disappointment after they had looked him up and down, but mainly it was a glare and Jason Grace was certainly an expert at spotting those.

"_So much for a warm welcome," _he thought to himself. "Yup," Jason said while popping his 'P' and striding into the class to face a near dead silence.

All eyes in the room were facing him. Jason Grace gave his audience a smile and introduced himself as one of the transfers from Jupiter Academy. The teacher, who was not the girl with golden locks but rather a short man with curly brown locks and a nearly business casual attire, sent him to the table in the far right after explaining that they were copying down the chapter's vocabulary terms. "I'm glad that we finally have a new classmate in which Nico can partner with," the teacher smiled gleefully while ushering Jason to his new seat.

"So," Jason started while setting his bag onto the table and taking a seat, "I'm Jason, nice to meet you Nico.

The boy next to him, he observed, had nearly shoulder length black hair that lightly framed his face. He was wearing almost black attire accompanied with a dark red jacket. His pale thin fingers were working furiously in a sketchbook.

His silence made Jason feel a bit uncomfortable, so he tried again. "That's a pretty cool name, where'd you get it?"

The boy looked over at him and frowned, "my mom?" he almost questioned as if the answer was quite obvious.

"Riiight," Jason said awkwardly while taking out some paper and a writing utensil.

Nico scrunched down, back to what he had been doing before he had been interrupted and began scribbling into his sketchbook.

"Oh you're an artist?" Jason asked, still trying to make some good conversation with his new partner because he knew that he would be stuck with him for the rest of the school year.

Nico didn't respond.

"Can I see?" Jason continued trying to find a ground in which he could at least somewhat get along with the boy.

Nico still wouldn't respond.

So instead of bugging the boy even further, Jason got out his notebook and opened his textbook so that he could start writing down vocabulary terms.

It was a boring class hour with Jason's new antisocial partner and a teacher who obviously didn't know what he was talking about. Seriously, the guy just kept reading random passages from the book and then ranting about how it was all wrong and starts the lecture all over again. So as the bell rang, the relief came quickly as he gathered his things and nearly bolted out the door.

"Hey," Jason turned to see an elf slapping a hand onto his shoulder. Well, not really an elf, but if Jason hadn't taken a good look at the guy, he would have sworn up and down that was an elf. But to be more accurate to this accusation, it was a guy who looked almost exactly like an elf. He has curly black hair that swirled over his almost pointed ears and sharp face. His brown eyes looked upon Jason with a mischievous smirk that told him that this guy was either going to blow something up or start some sort of crazy trouble.

"Uh, hey," Jason said cautiously, looking at the boy's hand on his shoulder.

"Where ya heading new guy? Jason, was it?" He asked as they left the through the classroom's threshold.

Jason shrugged the elf boy's hand off his shoulder. "Going to Weights and Training in the Blue Zone."

"Ah! Me too, I'll walk with you, show you the way." He said, giving Jason a wicked grin. "My name is Leo by the way." The boy traded gripping Jason's shoulder to gripping his hand in a firm shake, "welcome to Chiron Academy. You're going to just love it here, the bullies only take half of your lunch money and the babes greet you with cute smiles and punches to the face when looking a bit too far," Leo wiggled his eyebrows.

"Thanks," Jason frowned while escaping Leo's grip, "good to know."

"But uh, let's talk about that new lab partner you have for Chemistry," Leo looked around to make sure no one of importance was in hearing distance. "He's a bit… well… he's uh…" Leo paused and brought Jason to a halt. "Just be really super careful around him. He has this… well this… _vibe_ that you do _not _want to mess with."

Jason Grace frowned at the elf boy for the second time since meeting him. "Nico seems like a nice guy," He didn't like one bit how Leo was talking about his new partner. He couldn't place a finger onto why exactly he felt that he should be protecting the pale boy. "I mean sure he doesn't seem to talk much and he'd rather stay with his nose in his notebook but really he just seems a bit anti-social."

Leo shrugged and they began walking towards the Gym again. "Look, I didn't mean to offend you, I was just trying to help you out."

They walked to the rest of the way to the Gym in silence.

When they arrived Leo made a grand gesture to the entrance, "here we are. We've made it through the thick halls rolling with bodies of students and the dreadful glares from passer-by teachers! Past the dragon and through the fire flowers we have arrived to our destination. I shall bid Mr. Grace ado as I have other matters that call for my attention," Leo said with a wink and trotted off.

Jason looked around the Gym and noticed that the blond from earlier was there along with Nico. He decided to join the skinny kid in the corner with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Hey," Jason smiled, "looks like we have another class together."

Nico gave him a nod as his eyes wondered around the room, restlessly rolling on the back of his feet.

Jason continued to stare at the boy and noticed the dark circles that plagued his eyes and the sickly pale that wrapped around his body. For minute Jason started to wonder if he was sick or if he always looked like that. When Nico decided to grace him with a glare, Jason decided that he probably always looked like that.

"See something you like?" Nico asked, still glaring.

Jason knitted his eyebrows as the corners of his mouth drew down and turned away, treating Nico to some silence that he seemed to normally served up to Jason.

After standing and looking around for a few minutes the bell finally rang and a sharp whistle vibrated throughout the gym.

"Alright cupcakes," the whistle blower called out, "it's time to start another day of learning, another day to push ourselves to the limits and beat the shit out of each other!" The man punched his fist into the air. "It's a new school year, so try not to disappoint me this time."

A few moments of silence dared to interrupt the stout man before he clanked his baseball bat on the floor like a gavel in a courtroom. "Let's start up with a hearty game of hockey. Jackson, Chase, you're the team captains so pick out your members."

"Who's that?" Jason asked, gesturing to the tall sea-greened eyed captain.

"Percy Jackson," Nico said without giving out another piece of information.

"Informative," Jason noticed as he watched Nico nervously look back and forth from Percy to the ground.

"Grover!" Percy Jackson called as he gestured to a boy with wild brown hair.

"Clarisse!" Annabeth Chase called as a burly girl took her place next to her.

Next Percy called our Nico's name. Jason noticed the boy scowl and curse as he made his way to stand behind Percy and Grover.

Soon the teams were decided and Jason was standing on Jackson's team with Hazel, a girl with cinnamon brown hair and striking gold eyes who had introduced herself to Jason as Nico's half-sister, along with a few others Jason didn't quite catch the names of.

After the games starts Jason observes how Nico kept a good range from the team's leader and snuck peaks at him when he thought no one was looking. Well, Jason was looking, but it was only because he was still trying to figure out the lonely boy. Jason wasn't happy with the way Leo had spoken about him, nor was he happy about how he could hear other kids whispering about him in class earlier. He wasn't quite sure why he even felt this protective sense over the boy but he was willing to find out.

When Jason got the chance he made his near Nico and asked, "Do you like Percy Jackson?"

"Wh-what?" Nico's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he stammered up a sting of 'no' and 'hell no's.

And before Jason could inquire any further, he was suddenly knocked back, his head crashing to the ground and knocking him unconcious.


	2. Chapter 2: JASON

**A/N:** WOW! I did not think that anyone would follow after the first chapter like woah. I didn't really like that first chapter all that much cause I was supposed to add a few more details to it that I'm going to here… but oh well! Digity dang. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I do writing it!

**Chapter Two**

**Monday **

When Jason woke up his head was throbbing. He took in his surroundings to be met with someone anxiously staring at him, almost as if she had been willing him to wake up with her mind, which seems kind of silly.

Jason sat up and winced as his head pounded in pain.

"_It's an angel,"_ he thought when he got a good look at his nurse. Jason's eyes had met with a pair of green ones… no blue… no he was pretty sure they were brown…

She had chocolate brown hair chopped up in a way that made Jason think she was trying to hide her beauty under the uneven layers. Little braids were randomly placed in her hair ending in beads and tiny feathers. His nurse was probably one of the most gorgeous girls he had ever laid his eyes on.

Nervously, the girl took a strand of her hair and started to twirl it in her tanned fingers. Jason got the impression that she was an Indian in some way or another. "Oh thank goodness you're awake; I was hoping I hadn't given you a concussion," the girl sighed in relief. "I'm such a klutz, I'm so sorry I guess I just didn't see you there. My mind was on the puck amongst other things…" she trailed off and looked to the side.

Jason gave her a smile. "No big deal," he shrugged. "It doesn't even hurt." He gave his noggin a knock to prove his point, though he nearly gave her a wince through the idiotic move.

"Really?" Piper smiled, giving a new brightness to her features as he eyes turned a forest green. "I'm glad." The girl brought her hand to Jason's head and swept his hair from his forehead, trying to see if the bandages were still intact ok.

"The nurse wasn't here so I had to bandage you up myself; I hope it's not too tight…" She tailed off. Jason thought it felt nice as her fingers brushed along the well attached bandages.

Jason shook his head slightly, "not at all, feels perfect. Thank you." He gave her another smile even though they did seem a little too tight. The boy couldn't help that they kept slipping out.

"Good, that's good," she pursed her lips and let her hand fall from his forehead as her eyes drifted away.

"I'm Jason Grace, by the way," He said while trying to catch her ever changing eyes.

She met his again and said, "I'm Piper."

Jason couldn't help but stare at her for a few lingering moments before asking, "Do I know you?"

Piper shook her head. "I'm pretty sure I would remember a face like yours," she smiled.

"And I yours," Jason brought his face to a frown. "But you just seem so… I feel like I know you from _somewhere_."

Piper blushed and shrugged, "well I guess there's always the possibility of getting to know me now."

This time Jason felt his face heat up. "Perhaps I should."

An awkward silence soon fell the moment the words escaped him. He tried to grasp onto something new to talk about and started off smoothly with, "I…uh… so um… Nico di Angelo." The words tripped out of his mouth. "Do you know anything about him?"

Piper leaned back in her chair as she thought, a little relieved from the silence. "The pale boy who's always carrying around a sketch book? Why?" She asked.

Jason shrugged. "I'm just trying to get a better grasp on the boy, I feel bad about how everyone seems to treat him as if he's a disease. I feel as if I should help and as if I should be his friend."

Piper brought her elbows to her knees as she leaned over; matching Jason's eyes with a pair of deep blue ones. "I don't know a lot about him. Annabeth told me that she, Percy and Nico used to go to camp together when they were younger. Nico grew distant when his sister died and retreated more inward to himself. She told me that he used to be a really happy kid and sort of a big geek." The thought of Nico being a dork rather than a solemn teen made Piper produce a small smile.

"That's sad," Jason said, mainly to himself.

Piper nodded. "That's all she told me, the subject doesn't really come up into conversation a lot."

Jason smiled at her, "thank you."

Before Piper could say something, the bell rang for lunch.

"I need to go talk to him," Jason said while getting up. "Do you know where he might be?"

"Uh… normally he's outside during lunch or when it's cold he's in the library. I would check the library first though; it's a bit chilly today," Piper said while standing up. Jason noticed that the girl was probably six inches shorter than him, he wondered how she had knocked him over before.

"Thank you again," Jason couldn't help but smile at the girl and surprise her with a kiss on the cheek.

"So uh… you should meet up with me and a few of my friends after you talk to him," Piper blushed. "We're normally in the cafeteria."

"Will do!" Jason said as he swiftly left the nurse's office. "Thanks again for everything!"


	3. Chapter 3: NICO

**A/N:** Pernico has been one of my favorite ships for a while, and after reading a few totally awesome pernico fanfics I decided to write my own. It's been so easy to update lately because chapter one and two and part of three were originally all chapter one haha. I will most likely not get everything I want before this story ends but a lot of the ships will be_ hinted_ at.

Thank you everyone for following and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

**Chapter Three**

**Monday- Lunch**

Nico di Angelo scowled and scribbled words furiously onto a sheet of paper as he tried to finish up his rough draft for an essay that was due after lunch. He felt stupid for waiting until last minute to finish it up but the night before he was out late, getting a few extra hours in at _The Coffee Hut _so that he could make progress for his 'car fund'. Di Angelo knew that was a mistake and he knew that after being accepted for the Festus Scholarship next semester that he should have already had any homework assignments done. Festus Scholarships don't grow on trees; they're earned through good grades or exceeding in extracurricular actives such as sports or theatrical things. It was designed to take the best of the best from each school and plop them into the other for a semester, in the end trying to teach that the two rival schools can get along and to give the participants a hefty sum of money for college. Even though Nico was still a junior, it didn't hurt to gather up some money for higher lever education, because after all, he was only here because it was one of the only school that could provide housing and education (next to Jupiter Academy of course).

So the boy tirelessly worked his hands to get the job done so that he could spend his time actually eating and working on an art project he picked up for a friend. Well, Nico didn't really have friends, so it was more of an acquaintance… okay so it was for his favorite teacher. So what?

"Hey Nico," Hazel greeted while taking a seat next to him and lifting his mood a little bit, "are you going to join us tonight at _The Alley_?" _The Alley_ was where their school's bowling team practiced after school. Hazel and her friends Leo and Frank both made it onto the team last week and have been trying to get Nico to come and join them for a bit of fun at they practiced their strikes and form.

He shook his head with a no and finished up the last few words for the conclusion paragraph. It wasn't his best writing but it was sure to receive all of the completion points you could possibly earn for writing the rough draft, he could polish it up when he wrote the final draft. "Too busy," he mumbled.

Hazel sighed and unpacked her lunch, taking a big bite out of her turkey sandwich. "You're always too busy."

Hazel had transferred to Chiron Academy last year for the Festus program. She was a very talented art student whom also made decent grades. Nico was happy that she finally got accepted so that he would have the chance to spend a little more time with her. Although with work and school, it was hard for the boy to spend any time with anyone, let alone Hazel.

"Tomorrow," Nico blurted, feeling bad about having her here and hardly giving her the time of day, "I don't have work tomorrow and we can go anywhere you want after school."

The idea made Hazel give her half-brother a big smile, "we can go with Percy and Frank for ice-cream. I hear that this one place has really good ice-cream. Though, I'm not quite sure what the place was called…"

Nico grimaced at the idea of spending time with people being other than his sister, especially when those people were _Percy Jackson_. But he didn't want to take away the offer as soon as he gave it so he reluctantly agreed to go.

"Great!" She exclaimed, and then quickly covered her mouth remembering where she was and whispering out a sorry in the librarian's direction. "I can't wait; I'll go tell them now." Hazel kissed Nico on the cheek as she hastily finished off her sandwich and swiftly left the library with her exciting news.

Nico sulked in his chair as he took out a blank sheet of paper. He couldn't believe that he had agreed to go get ice-cream with Percy Jackson. He almost wished he had politely declined. But maybe the boy could suck it up for an evening. The awkward encounter would only have to last an hour or so and then he could go back to the dorm and start on his art project. Or maybe he could come up with an excuse to skip out on having the see the boy.

_"Oh sorry Hazel but um someone called in sick and they need me to come in and cover, maybe we can reschedule?" _

Nico frowned at himself for trying to come up with such a lame excuse. He would just have to 'deal with it' tomorrow for an hour. At least he was spending that time with Hazel and that's what was truly important. Right?

"Nico," said one Jason Grace as he sat next to one Nico di Angelo.

_"Oh no," he thought, "not him again."_

Nico had been plagued by the blonde since first period. He thought that he could find solace in the library, away from anyone he didn't want to see to find him. People like Jason or perhaps people in general.

It wasn't that Nico didn't like the boy, it was that well… Nico didn't like him. He found him to be a bit nosy and nosy people normally found out a little too much about you that you didn't want anyone to originally know about.

Quickly Nico gathered his things and got up. "Please leave me alone," he said through gritted teeth. The Italian boy started to briskly walk away because Jason caught his arm.

Flinching, Nico tried to escape the grasp.

Apologizing, Jason quickly took his hand back and placed it into his pocket. "I uh… wanted to talk to you," he frowned while not looking at Nico.

Oh god, he _knew. _He knew and now there was no way to take it back. No way for him to unknow what he knew and Nico hated it. He hated this nosy boy and why did he have to _know._ Why couldn't just someone not _know_? Was it the first thing people learned when they took _Nico 101_?

Of course he found out. Of course people would tell him all about poor unfortunate little Nico di Angelo. It was gossip gold and anyone who was anyone found out sooner or later.

"I don't need your sympathy," Nico growled as he tried to trudge away.

But Jason just would not quit.

Nico realized that that was the kind of person he was. Once he found something or someone to target he would aim until he scored. And Nico really didn't want to be anyone's target.

As Nico turned a sharp corner, out of the library, Jason 'gracefully' spun the same turn and stumbled into the poor Italian boy. Jason was a much larger and fitter young man and easily sent Nico crashing into the ground, dropping his sketch book and pencils.

Jason gasped as he picked up Nico's sketch book.


	4. Chapter 4: PERCY

**Chapter Four**

**Monday- After School**

Percy Jackson's phone buzzed as he made his way down the hall. He was supposed to meet up with Annabeth in the front of the school so that they could get back to her place for some 'studying' before heading to work at the YMCA. Annabeth was one of the only students who didn't have a dorm at the school. She lived with her father and step-mom. She had told Percy that it was her final year before leaving for college and that she should spend some of that time with her family.

_Free tomorrow after school?_ He read after digging his phone out of his pocket. The text was from Hazel.

**yeah, why?**

He rushed past the kids in the halls and burst through the doors as another buzz greeted him.

_You should come with Nico, Frank and I to get ice-cream at a super really yummy place. It will be fun! :)_

It didn't take Percy long to tell her that he was game for some ice-cream, any senior would be up for anything other than finishing assignments due or working on reading projects.

_Great, will go after Film Studies_

The phone buzzed again a few short seconds after the first.

_Sorry I mean *we'll_

Percy smiled and put his phone securely back into his pocket. After meeting Hazel Junior year along with Frank Zhang, the two new Festus Scholarship students, Percy grew very fond of them very quickly. It was in that semester that Annabeth was gone for a field study and Percy was forced to make some new friends. He didn't mind and in fact got along with almost anyone he met so it was easy to find Frank and Hazel. It was easy for him to split from his old group and form some new ones.

When Percy found his girlfriend he treated her with a bright smile.

"Hey there Seaweed Brain," she smiled back with his nickname and took his hand into her own while giving him a sweet peck on the cheek.

"Hey Wise Girl," he replied back with her own nickname.

"How was study hour? Did you study anything? I didn't see you in your usual spot." She inquired as they walked to her car.

Percy smiled and recalled how he had spent the last hour goofing around in the office with Frank and Leo. They had been kicked out the library for being too loud.

"Yeah, the Stoll brothers are coming back next week after their suspension for setting Mr. D's pants on fire," Percy snickered.

Annabeth sighed as she unlocked the car doors. Percy slipped in easily, leaving his bag by his feet as he secured on his seat belt. He knew how Annabeth was about safety and how she gets when they're half way home and Percy isn't secured.

"How was your study hour?" Percy asked, shifting the conversation towards her.

"It was fine. I finally got that Government essay done."

"Isn't that due next month?" Percy questioned.

"Actually it's due next class." Annabeth informed him.

"Oh…" Percy trailed off.

Annabeth gave him _the look_ while raising an eyebrow. "Did you even start on yours?"

Percy scratched the back of his head as Annabeth started the car up. "Sort of…"

"You need that class to graduate," Annabeth chided.

Percy frowned and then nodded. "I know, I know."

"I'll help you finish it when we get back to my place," she said.

Percy Jackson groaned in complaint. He would have much rather spent that time watching TV while cuddling on the sofa or… or… well you know. He didn't want to spend the hour he had before work finishing up an essay over the three branches of the government.

"You wouldn't have to be doing this if you had spent your time wisely in class today."

After that they didn't talk on the drive back.

Percy started to wonder why exactly Annabeth and he were together in the first place. Sure, they sometimes had a good time together talking and laughing. Sure he thought that she was one of the most beautiful girls in the school along with being the most intelligent and kind. But she seemed to be more of a tutor than an actual girlfriend. Annabeth would take Percy back to her place to work on his Chemistry homework or to study for a test. They never really had any fun together anymore. No not that sort of _fun. _Though Jackson wouldn't mind doing that either.

"So uh… Annabeth… how exactly did we start going out?" Percy asked.


	5. Chapter 5: NICO

**Chapter Five**

**Tuesday- After School**

Nico wasn't comfortable one bit as he shifted in his seat next to Percy. Hazel was talking excitedly about her new job at the school's stables but Nico could hardly catch a word of it as he kept noticing the way Percy's muscles flexed when he took a bite of his ice-cream or how his mouth enveloped the spoon. He also couldn't help but remember the previous day. His morning was uncomfortable as he had to sit with Jason Grace in his first two classes knowing what he had seen. Nico couldn't believe that he saw what was in his sketch book. His most personal item with his most personal feelings in them.

What was he thinking? What did Jason think of him now? Was he still sympathetic about his family or did he now think he was disgusting, a freak? He would probably stop pestering him now. He would probably treat him like everyone else did with avoidance.

The Italian boy was very distracted and very uncomfortable. The only thing he wanted to do was curl up in bed and never have to think about Percy or Jason or anything. He wanted to retreat into his sketchbook and try to forget about yesterday and all of the days before that.

"Nico?" he heard his half-sister ask while taking his unnaturally cold hand into her soft, warm one. "Are you okay?"

Nico made an attempt to smile at her and nod his head. "Uh yeah… having a great time."

"You haven't touched your Oreo ice-cream," she noted while pointing at his sad melting ice-cream. "Nor have you said one word since you got here. Is something bugging you?"

"No, not at all," he lied while swallowing his emotions. He pushed down the thoughts and his fluttering heart. He pushed away his need to retreat and tried to open up to his sister. "I think it's great that you got that job. I know how much you love horses; you'll be great at taking care of them."

Hazel rewarded her brother with a smile.

"So Percy, how are you and Annabeth doing?" Hazel asked while wagging her eyebrows.

Nico cringed and decided it was about time to stuff his face with ice-cream.

"Actually… we broke up yesterday." Percy shrugged. "It just wasn't working out too well."

"What do you _mean _it wasn't working out too well?" Hazel questioned. "She's all you ever talked about! Where did the love go? The sweet sweet romance?"

Percy offered another shrug.

Hazel rolled her eyes at him. "You'll be begging for her back tomorrow."

"Actually, I truly think it's over. I just don't feel like we can see each other in that sort of romantic way. I think it's best that we stay friends from now on."

Nico could have sworn he just heard that Percy Jackson said that he and Annabeth Chase were through. He could have sworn that he heard Jackson say he didn't feel that they could no longer be in a relationship with romance. He could have sworn he just heard those things come out of his mouth. And he could have sworn he heard his heart skip a few beats and his cheeks flush at the silly fantasies of what can be.

"You never know," Hazel said.

That broke them. The fantasies shattered and retreated back into the depths of Nico's mind. He wouldn't think about those sort of things. He wouldn't think about Percy in that sort of way. And he certainly wouldn't think that there would be any way that the two of them could ever possibly be together. Percy would never see him that way.

Nico shoved a few fries in his mouth to keep a smile from slipping. To keep that small stupid smile away that didn't retreat back with the fantasies. It stayed around like an unwanted smile.

"Anything knew in your love life, Hazel?" Percy questioned while eyeing her and Frank.

Immediately the dark girl fanned herself as she blushed. "Now now Mr. Jackson, we don't need to talk about that."

"But we do! We do!" Percy taunted.

"Nothing new and still as in love as ever." Frank was also blushing with a smile as he took his girlfriend's hand. The two of them have been dating since the beginning of the school year, it was no secret to anyone with a pair of eyes.

"Well that's nice... what about you Nico? Have a special lady you've got your eyes on?" Percy asked, looking at the Italian with a raised brow.

"Oh yes Neeks, you must have someone you have a crush on," Hazel smiled as all of the attention shifted to him.

"Oh but I don't," Nico said as calmly as he could through the fries and ice-cream.

"But there's always someone." Hazel said while wagging her eyebrows.

Nico shook his head and shoved more fries into his mouth, thinking about the way Percy was staring at him. He wondered how his sea-green eyes saw him. He remembered the way him and Jackson used to be, back when they were in that intense survival camp for young teens. Before everything happened and before Nico started avoiding eye contact.


	6. Chapter 6: NICO

**Chapter Six**

**Tuesday- Later**

A flicker caught the corner of his eye as he turned the key to his dorm room. Shivering, Nico glanced over his shoulder as the cold presence rushed up to him.

"Every night," he muttered to himself. "Every damn night."

Nico was starting to get paranoid, for every night since meeting Jason Grace he's been met with a mysterious feeling. A cold presence of the feeling that he's being followed. Of course, these sort of situations have happened before for Nico when he was a lot younger but it hasn't happened since his sister died.

The di Angelo boy had been ghost free for nearly six years. He hated them. When he actually got a good look at them he could see straight into their lifeless eyes into the life they once had. He would take a road trip through their memories and straight into their deaths. Normally, though, they went away when he asked nicely. But they were rather persistent and came back after a few days or so.

As Nico entered his small living quarters which consisted of a bed, desk, mini-fridge, and a television set that has been rumored to have been here since the dark ages; he set his keys on his desk and started changing into his pajamas. After snuggling into bed and flicking on his T.V., his phone buzzed abruptly.

He hastily searched for it in the folds of his covers and saw that he had a few unread messages, the first one being from Hazel.

_I had a lot of fun today, hope you did too! :)_

Nico responded with his own smiley face and opened up the next message which was also from Hazel.

_Let's go ice-skating this weekend._

Groaning, Nico realized that his smiley face could have been interpreted for a yes to Hazel's follow up text.

Confirming this, his phone buzzed once more and he opened it to see a delighted reply from Hazel.

_You won't regret it! It will be a lo of fun. _

_*lot_

Sighing, Nico set his phone down and tried to concentrate on _The Big Bang Theory_ and his pile of Algebra homework.

…

_It wasn't hard to recognize where his dreams had taken the Italian boy. Nico let a smile spread across his face as he looked at the fields of strawberries. He felt a warm hand collapse into his and looked up to see his sister. To him, she looked tall and strong. Her dark brown hair cascaded around her shoulders and her brown eyes were filled with joy. _

_"Hey Bianca, hey Nico!" A Familiar voice called out. _

_Looking up, he saw Percy and Annabeth making their way towards them. Excitedly Nico dropped his sister's hand and ran up to them. He showed off his new deck of Mythomagic cards and challenged Percy to a duel. _

_"Later," Percy smiled as he glanced shyly at Annabeth. _

_He didn't like the way he looked at her. _

_"I was thinking we could go on a hike," Annabeth suggested, mainly to Bianca._

_"Sounds great," Nico's sister replied. _

_"Can I go?" he asked, looking over to his sister for approval. _

_"I don't think so." She ruffled her brother's hair. "I heard that they're having a barbeque over at the Dining Pavilion, you should join up with Leo and Piper."_

_Pouting, Nico huffed, "they don't like me. I want to go on a hike with you guys. Why can't I go?"_

_Bianca shook her head, "don't argue with me, _caro_. Join the others for the barbeque; we'll be with you after. I'll even play your game with you when we get back."_

_Nico wrapped his arms around his sister, "_arrivederci_," _

…

Before the dream went on, before it got worse, Nico woke up to an overwhelming chill.

Nico scanned for the ghost and saw her sitting at the edge of his bed. Her body was torn and ragged, matching her clothes and hair. He carefully avoided her eyes.

"Wake up, wake up," she murmured to him. "Wake up."

"Go away," Nico sighed as he plopped his head back onto his bed. "Please go away."

…

Unfortunately, Jason Grace was not a ghost. No matter how many times Nico pleaded for him to leave the boy would not budge. He insisted that they get along. Nico thought it was because Jason was stupid. Well, putting it less harshly, Nico thought it was because Jason needed him to pass Chemistry. The senior had a hard time understanding the period table and things such as mass and volume, though clearly those were the easy things about the world of Chemistry.

Honestly, Jason shouldn't have a problem with passing the class; their teacher was an idiot and couldn't tell the difference between Na and Ra.

"Did you finish the study guide for chapter one?" Jason asked as soon as Nico took his seat. The boy had been hoping for the awkwardness from the previous day and was only greeted with a friendly smile. So maybe Nico had created the awkwardness in his mind to keep him away from the dashing young man who shared Superman's look.

"You've only been here for a few days, I'm sure Mr. Eros won't make you test." Nico took out his notebook filled with his Chemistry notes and doodles. He flipped open to a page with the study guide questions and slid it over to Jason. "Though he has been known to be a little unpredictable."

He didn't know why he had helped him but he just did. Maybe he thought that Jason would stop pestering him after giving him something to do. Maybe it would keep the blonde busy as Nico took out his sketch book and began to scribble lines this way and that way, interceding with careful strokes and numerous eraser marks.

"Have you told him?" Jason asked while copying Nico's notes.

"Told who what?" Nico questioned absently as he shaded in areas.

"Told Percy that you know…" Jason trailed off as he finished his first question. "That you like him."

Nico's eyes grew wide as he dropped his pencil and rushed his hand up to Jason's mouth. "Don't you dare say a word," he growled. "Not a damn thing." Nico looked towards the front of the classroom where Percy was leaning back in his chair while balancing a pencil on the bridge of his nose.

Jason mumbled against the palm of Nico's hand. When Nico wouldn't let go, Jason set out for drastic measures.

Nico yelped and quickly took his hand back, sliding it across his jeans, removing Jason's saliva.

"What was that for?" Nico hissed, thinking about the amount of hand sanitizer he would have to use.

"I was trying to ask if you had any future plans in telling him." Jason shrugged and went back to copying Nico's work.

"Of course I don't, why would I?" Nico grumbled.

The two boys sat in silence for what seemed like eons until the bell rang.

"You should tell him," Jason said while handing Nico his notes.

Nico just shook his head and left, ramming straight into someone's toned back, sending them both stumbling.

**A/N:** There is a lot of 'accidents' in this story... hm I wonder why that is.

Thank you everyone for reading!


	7. Chapter 7: PERCY

**Chapter Seven**

**Wednesday- Period 1**

They were young and stupid. Percy Jackson regretted every moment from that day. He regretted every word and every step. He regretted that he couldn't do anything to save his friend. He regretted the way Nico's eyes brushed past his blankly. He couldn't stand that they were no longer friends and wished that he could change everything. That he could bring _her_ back.

He remembered that they were just going for a hike through the woods. Leo had found this cool place and figured that they could make it their secret base. Every young teen needed a secret base. The idea had excited him and Annabeth, so of course they invited their friend Bianca to join them on the adventure.

He hadn't meant for her to get too far behind. He didn't mean to sneak off to the side with Annabeth to try to earn her affection by climbing a really tall tree with thorny branches. Honestly, who was impressed with someone climbing a tree?

It all happened so fast. They didn't believe that there were actually wild animals in the woods, that it was just Mr. D's way of scaring the campers from wondering around after curfew. But after that night they did believe. They didn't dare return to the woods after that night. They could hardly stand looking in the same direction as the woods.

…

"S-sorry," Nico mumbled and took a hefty step away from him.

Percy Jackson noticed how his skin was deathly pale and how his eyes were plagued with dark circles. He noticed how his clothes hung on his skinny frame and how he kept his hair swept over his eyes. Percy hated it. He remembered how olive his skin used to look and how his hair would cutely frame his face and how off his high cheek bones. He remembered how his face grew with a warming smile when he saw him and how his features lit up in awe. He hated how his face contorted to a grimace whenever they met or how his body cringed away from Percy as if he was a disease.

Jackson knew that Nico didn't blame him for his sister's death anymore, but that didn't stop him from blaming himself for not being there for him or his sister.

He wished he could turn back the clock and stop that horrible beast. To stop the tears that streamed from Nico's eyes as he showed Percy that last real emotion. He was sick of Nico hiding from him.

Percy touched his arm and tried to ignore the flinch that came with it. "Are you okay?" He asked the Italian, trying to meet with his darkened eyes. "Have you been getting enough rest? Enough to eat?" He was concerned. Especially since the night before, when they had gone out to eat, Nico let his ice-cream nearly waste away and his fries grow cold. The only reason why he had touched them was because he had grown uncomfortable and reclusive. Normally the boy would have happily eaten away and chatted cheerfully with the others. Percy missed that boy. He felt awful for making him grow up.

"Why do you care?" Nico brushed Percy's hand off and skulked away.

Percy scratched the back of his head and watched as Nico walked away.

As he thought about it, Percy hadn't truly shown much concern for Nico since Annabeth and he had become a 'thing'. He felt guilty for hardly giving Nico more than a second or third thought.

"_I should make it up to him,"_ Percy thought. Maybe he could take him to the amusement park or to some water park. Nico should have his childhood back. Percy felt as if he had to be the one to _give _it back.

When Percy caught Annabeth's eye, that was when he remembered how Nico would look at her, always stealing glances whenever he could, the same way Percy had looked.

"_Now that I'm out of the way, he has a shot." _

"Percy Jackson," Mr. Eros smiled. "Planning on being late for your next class? Have something on your mind? You can tell me if you'd like.

Percy shook his head and sped out the door, but not before he heard Mr. Eros whisper.

He couldn't have possibly heard him say that. It was silly, absurd, and hilariously ridiculous.

"_Is it about Nico's crush on you?"_

…

"No!" He had heard her scream. Percy swiftly made his way down the tree and ran towards Bianca's screams.

But he and Annabeth were too late. They saw blood but no body. She had vanished leaving huge paw prints and a trail of blood. Percy picked up a stick and ran after the trail, his clumsy feet stomping through the forest in rage. "Bianca!" he called. "Bianca! Where are you?" The trail ended but hadn't lead him to a body. He heard a roar and turned. Annabeth had been left alone, how stupid was he? Percy retraced his steps back to the blonde. She held her own stick and nearly whacked Percy when he jumped from the bushes.

When they made their way back, keeping an eye over each other's shoulder as they did so, they found their head Counselor Chiron and tried to explain what had just happened.

Percy remembers how weeks after Bianca's death that he couldn't eat or sleep. He kept seeing her face. He kept hearing her tell him, "wake up, wake up." He didn't know what it meant but guilt consumed him. Percy fell into a fit of darkness, but Annabeth had saved him. She dug him out and held him the way he should have been holding her. She kicked his ass and told him that he wasn't the only one in pain over her death, that the whole camp missed her. Annabeth told him to get his shit into place and to buck up because that's what everyone was doing.

Everyone, except Nico.

…

"Hazel, you have to get Nico to come with me to the amusement park this weekend."

Hazel looked at Percy Jackson as if he was insane. The boy was breathless and had his shirt on backwards from his rush in and out of the boy's locker room.

"Why do I have to do that?" Hazel asked while bending over to tie her shoe.

"Because you're my friend and he's your brother and he'll do what you ask him to do."

Hazel shook her head, "I already made plans to go ice skating with him this weekend."

"Then let's all go together, and invite Annabeth." The words rushed out of his mouth in a jumble as his thoughts raced.

Hazel stood back up and gave Percy one of _those _smiles. "See! I told you that you would be begging to get her back."

Percy shook his head with a frown. "No that's not it."

The girl raised one of her eyebrows as she tilted her head, "then what is it exactly?"

He shook his head again and looked away, his eyes finding Nico standing with Jason. The skinny boy looked awkward as his shoulders wree drawn inward and Jason was talking to him excitedly.

"You can tell me," Hazel lightly punched Percy's shoulder. "I won't tell a soul if it's a secret."

"Well… it is a secret and I don't want you telling anyone." Percy looked back at her, watching as she rolled on her heels excitedly and flicked her eyes from him to Nico. "I think Nico might have a thing for Annabeth."

At that, Hazel gasped as a smile arose on her face letting her cheeks redden. "Are you sure?"

Percy gave her a tiny nod, "Pretty sure."

"We'll have to set this up right away then," Hazel brought out her phone and carefully typed out a text message. Her fingers awkwardly glided along the keys as she was just a beginner at it. Percy had no idea how she had never held or seen a cellphone her entire life. "I'll let Nico know you guys will be tagging along closer to the date so he doesn't decide to chicken out," she winked.

"Right. Awesome. Thank you Hazel, you're the best. Oh! And lookie there, here comes your boyfriend." Percy smiled and gave Hazel a nudge on the shoulder.

Her head flicked up from her phone to see Leo Valdez approaching the two.

"He is not my boyfriend," she whispered. "We're just friends. You know I'm dating Frank."

**A/N:** Hope you guys enjoyed! And thank you for reading. Leave a comment or review? That'd be rad.


	8. Chapter 8: NICO

**Chapter Eight **

**Saturday**

As the week slithered by and Saturday started to make an appearance, Nico was still struggling to finish his art project. This Chemistry teacher who also sided as his art mentor had told him to create something that made him feel loved. But the Italian struggled to find the inspiration that he needed. Was Eros talking about a person? A thing? Or was he just being general?

Whatever it was, it had Nico sitting in front of his desk with blank sheets of paper spread over this way and that way with his pencil tapping on his bottom lip.

After glancing at the clock and seeing how late it was, Nico decided to head for bed and try again in the morning. Perhaps inspiration would come to him in his dreams.

But when sleep overtook him, he didn't expect to dream about _that._

…

"Lenire _Ni Ni, we're almost there." Bianca whispered into Nico's ear as she carried him up a steep hill. Nico had no idea where his sister had planned on taking him when she woke him up early in the morning and told him to pack up his bag. The sun was setting now and his legs had started to ache. Bianca, being the loving sister that she is, swooped up her brother and let him rest on her back._

_They were both ready to collapse from the day of travel but Bianca was striving through it, her legs pumping to get them uphill. _

"_No!" Nico screamed the moment before they were pounced on, sending them both crashing to the ground. _

_Nico's body ached even worse after the impact. _

_He watched as his sister leapt up to stand between him and the beast. As the darkness started to cascade around them, it made it difficult to discern the attacker, only noticing how large it was in size and how its fur blended in with the new night. _

_But just as its hind legs coiled for another pounce at the two di Angelo siblings, a boy lunged from the trees and tackled the monster to the ground. _

_Nico clutched onto his sister as he attempted to lift his aching body. He watched as the boy trapped and grappled with the thing. The di Angelo boy stared in awe and wonder as he fought the beast bravely. Before they could do anything to help the wild boy, the fight was over and the wild beast vanquished. _

_Nico held onto his sister as he peered at the boy, noticing his dark hair and sea green eyes that shined with power. He gave the siblings a smile. "Are you guys alright?" He asked them while holding out his hand to them. "I don't know what that was, but I'm glad I got here in time.. I hope nobody is hurt." _

_Before Bianca could step forward and take the boy's hand, Nico rushed up and took it himself. "Thank you," the Italian boy smiled. "I'm Nico di Angelo, and this is my sister Bianca di Angelo."_

"_We were looking for a camp," she explained while looking around, waiting for another attack. _

"_You must mean The Wilderness Survival Camp for Young Teens, you're almost there. I can show you the rest of the way." He offered._

_Nico could only think of the warmth that radiated from the boy as he escorted them. The kindness in his eyes and the way he didn't let go of Nico's hand as they walked. Nico blushed as he remembered the way he fought to protect them. He was exactly like a hero from his Greek myths._

"_My name is Percy Jackson, by the way. It's nice to meet you guys. We get a lot of… kids that come here." _

"He has the name of one too," _the boy thought._

…

When Nico woke up that morning, he felt completely restless as he picked up his pencil and started scribbling out rough drafts on his desk. He felt elated as his pencil moved along the papers, creating a hero in its wake.

He cried out in irritation when his clock told him it was nearly noon and time to get ready to join Hazel for ice-skating.

Nico looked through his wardrobe which consisted of mainly various shades of gray shirts and a few splashes of color here and there. He reached for the dark blue one as his phone buzzed. He briskly put the shirt on and checked the message from Hazel.

_Hope you don't mind… but I invited Annabeth to come with us today._

Nico frowned at the text. Why would his sister decided to bring her along with them?

His phone buzzed again and he hoped that it was an explanation.

_And Percy._

**You know I don't like surprises.** Nico replied while scowling at his phone, his mood plummeting and heading straight for Tartarus.


	9. Chapter 9: NICO

**A/N:** It's so weird now that I've reached chapter nine. It's weird seeing my own fanfic come into play as my ideas ramble along in my head wanting to add more more more. I can't wait to finish it up! Thank you all for reading! BTW the memory is from Percy's POV and the rest of the chapter is Nico.

**Chapter Nine**

**Sunday**

"_You were supposed to be there!" Nico di Angelo screamed as tears pooled out of his eyes. "Where were you? How could you leave her behind? You're supposed to be strong and brave. You were a hero who could do anything. How could you not save her like you did the first time? How did you just let her die?" _

_The words Nico flung at Percy stung like a thousand bees. Where was he? How could this have happened? He should have known that same beast that had run from him before would be lurking in those woods. He should have known that and stuck close to his friend. _

"_I'm sorry," Percy whispered while approaching the small Italian. "I don't… I'm so sorry Nico," was all that he could manage to tell him. _

"Non sei_," he whispered. "I trusted you to protect her. To protect the both of us. I hate you," and with that the boy was gone. _

…

The drive to the ice rink was completely and totally awkward and this time, Nico knew that he didn't create the mood, it was in everyone. Percy was driving the group with Hazel sitting shot gun, Nico and Annabeth were left in the back of the car with absolutely nothing to talk about.

Nico hated this. He hated how his sister got him to go outside of his comfort zone. The boy really should have made up a lame excuse and saved him from having to wheel around with Annabeth and Percy.

It wasn't really Hazel's fault though, she didn't know how Nico felt about Percy or Annabeth or anything about their past together. She only knew about his other sister.

"How's school going?" He heard Annabeth ask. Not thinking that the question was intended for him, he continued to look outside the window.

"Nico?" Percy asked, "Are you going to answer her question?"

"_He sounded like an encouraging mother." _Nico thought.

The boy turned his face towards Annabeth. "It's going great." He didn't add on after that, leaving a void in the conversation.

"Are you doing okay in your classes?" Annabeth tried again.

Nico gave her a nod, "I received the Festus Scholarship for next semester. I'll be over there for the rest of the year but I'll make sure to leave as soon as I'm done… for Hazel."

"Wow, that's amazing Nico." Annabeth smiled and patted the boy's knee, causing his initial reaction to cringe away from her.

"Thanks," he hissed.

…

When they arrived at the rink, the four of them quickly escaped from the overstuffed car and quickly made their way into the building. They rented a pair of skates and set out to get them tied on, Hazel and Percy leaving Annabeth and him alone when they decided to venture off to the other side of the building.

"I think this is a set up," Annabeth mused while looking over at Nico who was struggling to get his foot into his first skate.

"A set up?" He questioned.

"Isn't your little sister a bit of a match maker?"

"Not really…" Nico looked around for Hazel and caught her eye as she was gliding onto the rink. She gave Nico a wave and a wink. "Lately it seems so," he frowned while looking at Annabeth.

The blonde sighed and stood up after finishing the ties in her skates.

"What made her think that this…" Nico trailed off finally tying up his first skate and shoving his other foot in the last one.

Annabeth bent down to eye level with Nico, while resting her elbows on her knees. "Perhaps it's because she's noticed the way you're always looking at Percy and I, as if we had been something foul."

Nico shook his head and stood up. "I just wanted to spend some time with my sister, not get dragged into a love triangle of sorts."

Annabeth arose with him along with her eyebrow.

"I know you're still into Percy." Nico explained.

"I am not," She said as they made their way onto the rink, Nico stumbling and losing his balance here and there on the way.

"You are." He stated.

"What makes you so sure?"

"No one can ever get over Percy Jackson that's what. He's amazing and strong. He's kind and intelligent by his own means." Nico stopped as he rolled up a nice list of what makes Percy an incredible person in his head and instead started to direct it towards Annabeth. "I've seen the way you still look at him. You miss him but you just don't want to admit it."

Annabeth huffed as she helped Nico keep his balance on the ice. "Well he certainly doesn't seem to miss me. He treats me exactly the way he would any other friend but it's a bit more awkward now… Sometimes I'll reach for his hand or have to keep the urge to brush my hand against his arm or fix his hair. It feels weird with us being this way now."

"I'm sorry," Nico murmured as his gaze made his way to his sister and Percy. He couldn't help the jealousy that announced itself as he watched them smile together.

…

"Don't ever do that again," Nico growled at his sister over the phone, a few minutes after Percy had dropped him off. The boy seemed cheeky and ecstatic, as if something had gone completely right for him.

"Do what Neeks?" she asked innocently.

"You tried to set me up with Annabeth today at the rink," he retorted.

"You didn't have a good time?" Hazel asked, disappointed. "I felt sure you had a good time with her."

"Of course I didn't. I spent the entire time stumbling around the ice rink with _Annabeth Chase_." He seethed.

"You say her name as if it's rotten," Hazel mused.

"She's not exactly the kind of person I enjoy being around. I thought _we _were going to spend time together, _sorellina_, not you, me and some other people."

Hazel sighed, "It's healthy to spend time with people other than me, Nico. I'm sorry about springing Annabeth along with us; I just don't want to see you so… so…"

"So what?"

"So sullen all of the time. I want light in your world. I want you to be happy and healthy."

"I thought I was supposed to be the one who looks after you, _sorellina_."

"You need to learn how to look after yourself first."

Soon after Hazel said that, the two said their goodbyes and Nico got ready for his shift at _The Coffee Hut_.


	10. Chapter 10: PERCY

**A/N:** Of course Annabeth knows about him. Jason isn't the only one who's figured this whole thing out. But Hazel is a bit in the dark considering that the thought of someone like that never crossed her mind.

**Chapter Ten **

**Monday- After School**

Percy and Piper sat across from each other on her bed as they stared intensely at the sheet of vocabulary terms they each held. Percy Jackson was helping his friend study for the vocabulary test they had the next day. Each list they held consisted of thirty words and thirty definitions.

"Oh Piper, honey, do you really need all of the closet space for all of your old raggedy clothes? Just throw them in a bag and call it good. We both know that closet space should really belong to me since I was here first."

Percy looked over as Drew popped her head out of the closet, still looking for an outfit for her date. She had been in there for nearly two hours.

Piper huffed in exasperation from having the same argument day in and day out. "I'm not putting my clothes in a bag. You can either buck up or get another dresser." Drew took up most of the closet with all sorts of clothes hanging from hangers and owned, as of now, one dresser in which she stored other various items that Percy wasn't too curious about.

She 'hmphed' at Piper and disappearing back into the closet.

"I hate her," Piper seethed.

"I do believe you _abhor_ her." Percy smiled in triumph, grabbing the word straight off the paper they had in front of them.

The Indian girl gave Percy a mischievous smile as she scanned the list of words. "Alrighty mister smart guy, give me the definition for obscene." She said with a waggle of her eyebrows.

…

Later that night as Percy Jackson was walking back to the boy's dormitory, he found Nico hunched over on the sidewalk. Immediately he burst into action, running over to him and careful not to touch him. "Nico, are you okay?" He asked, crouching in front of him and searching for his eyes. The boy was distressed with his hands carefully cradling his face and his body tucked into himself as closely as he could manage.

"Go away," he kept muttering. "_Andarsene_."

"No one is here but us." Percy touched Nico's arm carefully. "Nico, look at me."

After a dragging silence, Nico looked up at him while peeking through his fingers and screamed. "She's right behind you!"

Percy quickly stood and spun around while reaching into his pocket for his pen. He saw no one there and wondered why his first resort for a weapon had been his pen.

"Please leave, please leave." Nico muttered.

Percy Jackson picked the boy up from the ground. "It's okay Nico, no one is here. Are you hurt?" The Italian looked up at Percy, his eyes and face was red from tears. He noticed how he looked paler than usual and how his hair stuck to his forehead in sweat.

"She was here." He muttered.

"Who was here?" He asked.

"_She_ was."

Percy looked around the clear sidewalk for any trace of who she was but found nothing. He shook his head, "no one is here Neeks. Let's get you back to your dorm." Jackson set Nico down on his own feet, but only for him to collapse back into Percy, his legs didn't seem to know how to move. "I'll help you." Percy said, wrapping one arm around the boy and leading him into the direction of the dorms.

When they arrived, Percy set Nico down onto his bed while taking off his shoes. He brought the covers up to the shivering boy and tucked it under his chin. Percy lifted his hand to his forehead to find a fever.

"Do you need anything?" Percy asked, wanting to help him but not quite sure how to take care of him.

Nico shook his head and closed his eyes.

But just before Percy was just about to get up, Nico grabbed ahold of his hand. "Please stay," he muttered. "You're warm."


	11. Chapter 11: NICO

**Chapter Eleven**

**Tuesday Morning**

Nico di Angelo was very confused when he woke up to Percy Jackson snoring at his bedside. He had taken Nico's desk chair and found a blanket, making a make-shift bed out of the chair. As Nico ran his fingers through his hair he noticed that his other was entangled with Percy's.

_"Okay. What is going on?"_ He thought while carefully taking his hand back without disturbing Percy's sleep. His hand hovered over Percy's hair before deciding to gently move the curl that lay across his eyes, giving Nico a better view of the sleeping Percy. Nico felt his face warm into a smile and his cheeks flush.

He flicked his phone open to see the time, reading it to be almost five in the morning. Groaning, the boy rolled back into bed and stared at Percy's sleeping face once more. He couldn't help but blush again as he wondered what had happened the night before. How did he end up with Percy in his dorm? Why was he wearing the clothes from the day before? Why was his throat burning and his entire being shivering from something unearthly cold?

Nico sat up and rubbed his eyes, he wasn't going to get back to any sound sleep in this state. He got up and stumbled to his mini-fridge, grabbing a water bottle and chugging its contents down in one gulp. Nico found a hoodie in his closet and shrugged it on to try to escape from the cold that surrounded him.

The Italian wasn't completely sure what he should do with the handsome boy sleeping in his chair but he knew he didn't want to wake him. He wanted to live in a little fantasy for a bit that something less embarrassing happened last night than what probably went down.

Nico shivered as he decided a hot shower might help him wash away this ick that surged through his body and warm him up from the aching cold.

He closed and locked the bathroom door behind him as he changed out of the clothes he had worn the night before and stepped into the shower. He was automatically greeted with a stream of hot water when he turned the faucet on. Nico ran his fingers through his hair and sighed as the cold seemed to vaporize at the touch of the hot stream.

After showering until his hot water finally seemed to cool down and his pores were vibrating with heat, he finally turned off the faucet and stepped out to dry himself off, wrapping a towel around his waist when he finished.

He tip-toed into the room and to his closet and picked out some clothes to throw on. He glimpsed at Percy to make sure he was still sleeping before returning to the bathroom.

Nico quickly got dressed and combed through his hair. After brushing his teeth and grimacing at the pale skinny figure that stared back at him in the mirror, he returned to his room.

Nico grabbed ahold of his sketch book and pen before sitting back onto his bed. The artist took advantage of the moment and drew Percy in his sleeping state, carefully creating lines and shadows with his pen. He smiled to himself while drawing out the curve of his lower lip and the slope to his nose. But before he could finish, Percy stirred from his sleep and blinked at Nico as he brought his arms up to rub his eyes.

"Good morning." He yawned while stretching out his curled out limbs from the chair.

Nico closed his sketch book. "Good morning." He slid off from his bed and went to his desk where he set aside the sketch book and turned on his coffee maker.

Nico noticed that his rough draft for his art project was still sprawled over his desk. He felt his face flush as he gathered up the paper and stashed them into a drawer, hoping that Percy hadn't had the time to look around at whatever hour he brought Nico into his room last night.

"Do you like coffee?" Nico asked. Of course Percy liked coffee, Nico saw him at least once a week when he worked at _The Coffee Hut_.

"Yeah…" Percy said a bit groggy with another yawn slipping from his mouth. "Oh hey Nico… what does _and hair scenie_ mean?"

"What?" Nico asked.

"It sounded Italian. You muttered it last night… I was just curious."

"_Andarsene?_" Nico questioned. When Percy nodded he went on. "It's a polite way in saying 'go away'."

"Oh… I guess that makes sense."

They sat in silence as the coffee maker dribbled the first bit of coffee out.

"What happened?" Nico finally asked the question that had been weighing on his tongue.

"You mean you don't remember?" Percy asked, his eyes widening a bit. "I suppose the fever you had last night may have taken over… I found you." Percy sat onto the edge of Nico's bed. "I found you on the sidewalk and carried you back here. You asked me to stay and with your fever I figured it was the least I could do for you."

Seconds ticked by as Nico stared intently at the flowing coffee. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't mean to keep you here last night."

"It's okay," Nico could almost hear the shrug in his voice. "How are you feeling now? Any better?"

Nico nodded as his machine beeped at him. He poured them two cups of coffee while adding a few drops of creamer to his.

When Percy made his way over to the desk, Nico carefully backed away with his coffee and leaned on the wall near his bed, warming his hands with the hot mug.

As Nico sipped at his hot coffee, he glanced at the clock reading it to be nearly seven. "We should get going," Nico muttered and took another swig.

"I just woke up." Percy whined, pouring creamer into his coffee before picking it up to cool it off with his puckered lips and taking a drink. "I'll take a quick shower before we head to Chemistry." Percy lifted the collar of his shift and took a whiff. His face grimaced before looking back at Nico. "Do you have anything that I could barrow? My dorm is on the other side of the building and I don't think we have time."

"I might have something..." Nico mused as he set down his cup of coffee to rummage through his closet. He found the biggest shirt he owned and tossed it to Percy.

"It'll do." Percy said while heading into the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

Before Percy started the water for the shower, Nico quickly finished up his coffee and gathered up his papers and books into his backpack. Nico looked at the door leading to the bathroom and heard the water rush out of the faucets as he escaped through the front door. He felt a bit bad for leaving Percy like that, but he hated what he was feeling and needed out.


	12. Chapter 12: PERCY

**A/N:** I feel as if love is grown and developed. I doesn't just happen but grown through feelings and nurture. Nico is in love with Percy Jackson, but does Percy Jackson even think twice about the curl of Nico's lip or the way his hair falls gently across his face? That's what we're trying to figure out here so I'm sorry if this fanfic is being a bit draggy. I have an exciting ending planned and I hope you all will enjoy it hopefully in the very near chapters to come. This fanfic was a spontaneous idea I decided to write into life without much thought about what exactly would happen. The ending was my first plot point and I'm trying to work my way backwards. This is probably the first time I've been consistent with updating so hopefully I'll have this done by Thursday with only about two-three chapters to go!

**Chapter Twelve**

**Still Tuesday Morning**

As Percy Jackson climbed out of the shower and dried himself off, he noticed that after changing into his barrowed clothes that smelled faintly of the Italian boy the he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Nico's book bag was gone and his front door was slightly ajar as if he had been running from something.

But what Percy did see was the corner of a white sheet of paper Nico had so gracefully shoved into the drawer of his desk earlier. Curious, Percy snooped into the drawer and brought out the scrambled mess of papers. His eyes scanned the images and as he did so, something seemed familiar about them. The drawing brought an eerie feeling to Percy as a pair of sea green eyes stared up from the mess of pen scribbles and charcoal smudges. Something clicked and he figured out that he was staring at a picture of himself. Percy's arm was stretched out towards the viewer of the drawing with his eyes bright and his smile caring. It was a perfectly captured image of him as a young teen from the day he had first met Nico.

Percy flipped through the rest of the drawings, finding ones of the di Angelo boy's sister and a few more of him, each one glorified. He carefully set the pictures back into Nico's desk drawer and pulled out his phone. But before he could bring up Nico's contact name, he saw a canvas hidden away in the Italian's closet. Curious still, Percy ventured to take a glance at it.

His heart jumped as he looked at the charcoal drawing. It was Percy's sea green eyes that glowed in the darkness. It was him in Greek armor and a sculptured body. He was obviously portrayed as a hero with a golden sword.

"_You're supposed to be strong and brave. You were a hero who could do anything." _Percy heard Nico's words ring around in his head. Had Nico seriously thought of him as a hero? A protector? Did he have such a high regard of him?

Percy pulled up Nico's contact on his phone.

_**Busy after school? We need to talk.**_

After a few seconds he decided to add: _**Privately. **_

Percy glanced at the time on his phone and read it to be seven thirty. He found his backpack near the makeshift bed/chair and slung it on. He kept checking his phone for a message but didn't receive one until lunch.

**I have to work after school. **

Sighing, Percy typed up a reply. _**Then how about tomorrow morning?**_

The reply came faster this time with only a minute for the waiting period.

**No.**

No? Percy wasn't going to take that for an answer. _**If I don't see you before you head off to work today, I'll come up there and make a ruckus. **_

This time it took Nico a little longer and Percy didn't receive and answer until the bell rang for the next class.

**Fine. Where at?**

_**Your dorm. **_

It was a painful few hours before school let out. Percy didn't know what he was going to say to Nico. He didn't even know what he was feeling. What he did know was that he had to tell him something. He wanted to ask him why he was a hero. He wasn't. He failed to protect Bianca. He failed and was foolish and let her die. Why would Nico see him like that? What made him so special to him? He thought the boy had hated him. He thought that Nico wanted nothing to do with him. So why were there beautiful pictures of him?

When the time finally came Percy had butterflies in his stomach and he couldn't keep his fist from shaking as he knocked on Nico's door.

After a few agonizing seconds of waiting, Nico opened the door. He was already dressed in his Coffee Hut uniform with the chocolate brown shirt and pants to match.

Nico blew his bangs out of his eyes as he welcomed Percy back into his dorm. It was cute, although his expression featured a storm of rage and his body language was as reclusive as always.

As Nico took a seat on the edge of his bed and Percy on the desk chair, all they could do was stare awkwardly at each other as seconds turned to minutes.

"So…" Nico started, his eyes dashing from Percy to the window, to the floor and to anywhere but Percy again. "What did you want to talk about so urgently?" He seethed.

Just as his expression, Nico did not sound at all pleased by Percy being here. Percy wanted to chicken out and tell him he was just kidding. That he didn't need anything answered and that he was perfectly fine with being in the dark.

"I uh… I saw your art." Percy managed to get out. "It looked good…"

Just as the words escaped his lips, Nico's expression grew horrified and his face turned cherry red. "You didn't." He whispered.

Percy nodded, still trying to find words that he didn't want. "I'm not like that though," Percy gestured to the desk drawer that hid the drawings. "I'm not really a hero and if I was I would be a very bad one."

Nico shook his head, his dark eyes meeting up with Percy's sea green ones for one of the first times in a while. "If you were truly a hero in one of those Greek myths, you would be a great one. You would be strong and brave and courageous. You would fight hard for your friends against any odds. But here, you are still one. You are great. You are brave and stunning. You're strong and the kindest person I have ever met."

Percy stared at him, his mouth almost drawn open in shock. How could the Italian think of him like that? Was he like that? Percy didn't see it.

"You're amazing." Nico added; his face still the complexion of a cherry. "At least… that's what I think."

Percy gave the boy a shy smile. "Thank you." He said.

Nico looked as if he wanted to say something else, his mouth opening and shutting with words waiting to spill out.

"What is it?" he asked.

Nico looked him again in the eye. "I've always admired those qualities about you. I've always thought you were amazing and strong."

As Percy Jackson stared at Nico's eyes and at his flushed cheeks, he began to realize that this must be a sort of confession.

**A/N:** OMG!


	13. Chapter 13: NICO

**A/N:** WOW! I was super glad to receive all of those reviews the other night! Thank you guys for reading and I hope this last chapter is just what you were waiting for.

**Chapter Thirteen**

He was stupid. He was utterly stupid. Nico di Angelo could not believe that he had just spilled all of those things to Percy. He was stupid. Percy was stupid.

He hated the feeling in his stomach that made him either want to bounce around with joy or to vomit. Percy was staring at him as if he had never seen him before and he could not handle the intensity of it. Those beautiful sea green eyes mesmerized him into a trance. They pulled out the words from his mouth and made Nico give Percy the closest thing that he will ever come to making a confession.

It wasn't like how it was in those romance novels his sister used to read. They weren't standing in the rain, flustered by one another and finally spilling out their eternal love for one another. They didn't kiss passionately as rain dripped from their brow.

Percy was just staring at him.

Nico wanted him to speak. Nico urged him with his mind for him to speak. Was he disgusted? Did he hate him now?

"Say _something_." Nico finally said, shattering the silence.

"I uh… did you… Nico do you like _like _me?" Percy asked, scratching at the back of his head.

Nico felt his face grow even more red as he was finally able to look away from Percy. "I yeah well sort of a lot… yeah." The words vomited out of his mouth, leaving Nico feeling even more sick than before.

"I had no idea." The Italian decided to venture a glance at Percy just to see as his face started to turn a similar color to his own.

"I'm sorry." Nico said.

"What are you apologizing for?" Percy asked.

"For this… all of this. The me liking you part. I didn't mean to tell you all of that stuff. But you honestly don't see it, do you?" Nico was staring at him again as he raised an eyebrow.

"That stuff you said? Not really."

"You're an idiot." Was all Nico could reply while shaking his head.

"Not the first time I've heard that before." Percy smiled.

Oh that smile sent Nico into a world of butterflies. That guy just had the most perfect smile.

In that moment, as Nico stared at Percy's lips he realized that the boy hadn't left after his confession. Percy Jackson was still sitting in front of him, awkwardly smiling and twiddling his thumbs. Did he feel bad for him? Did guilt hold him in place?

_"I've gotten this far,"_ the Italian thought to himself as he took ahold of Percy's shirt. Well, it was technically his shirt that Percy was borrowing. Okay so Nico took ahold of Nico's shirt that was attached to Percy's nicely toned body and with all the strength he could muster, surprisingly bringing Percy forward into a kiss.

Nico could not believe he was doing this.

What overcame him?

The butterflies were sent into an uproar in Nico's stomach as they decided to have a riot.

But it was amazing. To actually feel Percy's lips on his own. For sweet lasting seconds as the other boy didn't pull away from him. Either he was in shock or a state of confusion, Percy stayed firmly planted on Nico's lips.

Nico wanted more. He wanted much more than this kiss. This small sweet little kiss. He wanted to go further but he already felt embarrassed enough. The Italian pulled away but didn't lift a finger to let go of Percy.

The two of them stared at each other without saying a word. The silence was unbearable for Nico. He wanted Percy Jackson to say _something _to do _something_. Why wasn't he saying anything?

But Percy surprised him when he reached for Nico's face and pulled him back in for another kiss. This time stronger and deeper. Percy ran his fingers through Nico's hair, tugging him closer. His tongue lightly glazed over the Italian's lower lip sending the boy into almost hysterics as he eagerly opened his mouth to him. The experienced kisser lead as Nico felt like a clutz, not knowing exactly what to do with himself as Percy nipped and sucked at his lips.

Before Nico was even finished with his mouth, Percy leaned back from the kiss. Nico let go of his shirt and leaned back into his bed, touching his swollen lips.

"Wow." Nico said, his lips turning upwards into a grin. The boy couldn't help himself, he was so damn happy.

"Yeah." He noticed how cute Percy's flushed cheeks were. Damn. Percy was just amazingly amazing.

In those moments, as Nico started at Percy, he felt completely happy. He felt all of his self-conscious thoughts drift away. He felt all of the insecurities he had fall far away from him. He felt lighter and ecstatic. He never thought he could feel this way. He never thought that he could look at Percy this way or that he would ever feel the touch of his lips.

But it was over.

It was all over.

He felt himself drifting away from the moment. He felt groggy and unaware.

The Italian desperately grabbed Percy's hand, wanting something to keep him grounded as coldness washed over him. The awful bone-deep coldness.

"It's time to wake up."

Nico blinked and he wasn't in his dorm. He soon realized that it wasn't real. He realized as he looked at Percy across from the Argo II's deck that none of it had been real as Percy stumbled up and reached for Annabeth. Everyone was lying on the ground. Everyone was waking up from as daze.

Why couldn't it have been real?

_"It was a possibility."_ A voice rang in Nico's head.

Of course.

It was him. It's always him.

Nico was so stupid to believe that any of it was actually real. That it would actually happen.

Stupid Cupid.

**A/N:** Yeah?


	14. Author's Note

**Okay so** **just to clear some things up about the ending of this fanfic, I'll tell you what sort of happened. **

**Cupid pretty much sent everyone asleep and in this dream he created a scenario of something that could be if this, this, and this happened. Through out the fic Bianca is haunting Nico, Bianca technically being a part of his imagination that he created that knows that none of this is real. It's kind of weird and confusing but it was built up for the plot twist and I didn't have room to shove this sort of information in with a nice little bow.**

**Another thing! When Nico dropped his sketch book and things after Jason bumped him they were drawings of Percy and honestly I can't decided between letting you know if he was drawing hardcore stuff or just cute pictures of him at different angles and hero stuff. **

**Also, what happened in Nico's past for him and Bianca to have been traveling like that was left blank. This is an alternate reality (the dream) and everything is not always filled in, especially with the past, unless it suits with the scenario.**

**So yeah! I tried to cover all of your questions but if you have anymore I'll be more than happy to answer them! **

**Thank you all for reading! It is possible that in the future I will write more Pernico stuff but right now I'm working on a Chrisse fic c;**


	15. Sequel

**SO! I've decided to create a sequel for this lovely piece of work and I hope that you all with venture to my page to read it! It's called Coffee or Tea and hopefully it will be a bit more exciting wink wink hint hint**


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